NF-kappa-B Contributes To Muscle Wasting

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NF-kappa-B Contributes To Muscle Wasting

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=55710

Muscle wasting is a widespread problem for individuals of all ages.

It can be caused by genetic defects, such as the genetic defect that

causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as be a secondary

consequence of other diseases, such as cancer and diseases of the

immune system. However, the molecular events that lead to muscle

wasting are not well defined, meaning that treatments for this

disease have not been developed.

Now, in a study appearing in the November issue of the Journal of

Clinical Investigation, Foteini Mourkioti and colleagues at the

European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Mouse Biology Unit in

Monterotondo-Scalo, Italy, have shown that the muscles of mice

lacking the protein IKK2 (which is required for activation of a

regulator of gene expression NF-kappa- in muscle cells were

stronger than the muscles of normal mice. Furthermore, mice lacking

IKK2 in muscle cells were protected against muscle wasting caused by

either denervation or exposure to a toxin. These data indicate that

IKK2 activation of NF-kappa-B is one molecular pathway that leads to

muscle wasting and cause the authors to suggest that agents

targeting this pathway might have potential as therapeutics for the

treatment of muscle wasting

In an accompanying commentary, Karin -- from the University

of California San Diego -- suggests that because NF-kappa-B is a key

regulator of gene expression during inflammation, inflammation might

have a pathogenic role in muscle degenerative disease and that anti-

inflammatory therapies might prove beneficial to individuals with

such diseases.